small suggestion on "AnandTech Deals" locked posts in Hot Deals Forum...

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: jjsole

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: jjsole <STRONG>The Tigerdirect ads have left the building!! </STRONG>

Not on the banner's. And they have to be CHANGED anyway cause the old ones are dated. What is your experience with TigerDirect? (in OT) I figured it is as "off-topic" as it gets there with similar threads from time-to-time. It will just reach a larger audience there and perhaps we can find those AT Forum 'power users" that TigerDirect is so proud of.

I don't see banners, is this what non-subscribers see?

Yes. I opted to not renew as a personal protest. You can see them if you really want by opening another browser and linking to the forums from AT's main page (My Community).

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: apoppin
Yes. I opted to not renew as a personal protest. You can see them if you really want by opening another browser and linking to the forums from AT's main page (My Community).

Me too, check sig.

 

[apoppin]

I don't see ANY TigerDirect ads anywhere on AT Forums.



(I still see dead people, however.)

:Q

 

[MrHans]

Originally posted by: apoppin
I don't see ANY TigerDirect ads anywhere on AT Forums.



(I still see dead people, however.)

:Q

I know what you mean... I'm waiting for mr tigerdirect to refute the BBB's claims (but I wont be holding my breath )
hans

 

[SuperSix]

Tiger Direct, and mostly Mr Matthews sicken me.

Isn't it against AT policy to have duplicate accounts Magicbrillo? (AKA TigerDirectDeals) Proof HERE.

Also, a quick search of archived message for user "MagicBrillo" will find he also pimped TIger Direct on many occasions, ANOTHER violation of the forum rules. He even acts like he doesn't work there, Here's one example. You have the credibility of a fresh turd, sir (term used loosely), and you NOT visiting here again, would be the best thing you can do for your sleazy employer. You CANNOT defend yourself, you are a lying pice of trash. GO AWAY!

I was offered a job @ TigerDirect.. A laughed in their face.

The real litmus test will be if Anand takes theur money again after such an uproar..

 

[MrHans]

Good job on teh sleuthing SuperSix! I may give him a call to ask him about these different scenarios him and his company have played. Should be good for a few laughs eh?
hans

 

[olds]

Yes, excellent work!

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

Thanks SuperSix. Seems that everywhere we look there is more hard evidence that El Tigre indeed speaks with forked tongue again and again and again. Why would anyone want to do business with or defend their actions and (lack of) ethics ?:disgust:

 

[Antisocial Virge]

HAHA Do a archived message search for the username "magicbrillo" He posts in every tiger thread and even says things like "Thanks...I ordered two" HAHAHA Well, like we needed any more proof but its funny just the same.

Wonder if Anand can collect $$ on all his past advertising.

 

[apoppin]

One thing I really do appreciate about AT forums is that "dissent" is allowed.

The very existance of this thread and the one in OT - especially while TD was actuallly advertising here - says something very good about the integrity of this site and its owners.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: apoppin
One thing I really do appreciate about AT forums is that "dissent" is allowed.

The very existance of this thread and the one in OT - especially while TD was actuallly advertising here - says something very good about the integrity of this site and its owners.

The fact that Anand listened to his membership and canceled the ad probably at a cost to him speaks volumes for him and his Forums. Oldsmobot, you want to talk about principles? You letting your Subscription run out isn't principles, it's just a little hissy fit(well IMO). What Anand has done is what principles are all about.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: apoppin
One thing I really do appreciate about AT forums is that "dissent" is allowed.

The very existance of this thread and the one in OT - especially while TD was actuallly advertising here - says something very good about the integrity of this site and its owners.

The fact that Anand listened to his membership and canceled the ad probably at a cost to him speaks volumes for him and his Forums. Oldsmobot, you want to talk about principles? You letting your Subscription run out isn't principles, it's just a little hissy fit(well IMO). What Anand has done is what principles are all about.

The offending TD ads are not only gone (this critical discussion has continued; TigerDirect has made concessions to AT Forum members) - the public forums's bandwith has noticeably increased AND the subscriber forum has additional benefits. I'd say Anand HAS replied to this issue very commendably.

What more can any reasonable person expect?

 

[Antisocial Virge]

Just a few questions for my own curiosity. Did he cancel the ads or did the ads just run to the end of the contract? Where they actually pay for placement ads or were they just straight refferal links?

the public forums's bandwith has noticeably increased AND the subscriber forum has additional benefits. I'd say Anand HAS replied to this issue very commendably.

?? Are you trying to say this was done because of the TD ad situation?

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Oldsmobot (sic), you want to talk about principles? You letting your Subscription run out isn't principles, it's just a little hissy fit(well IMO). What Anand has done is what principles are all about.

RD, I'll use you own words:

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Jesus Christ dude, it's just a foum on the Internet. I swear some people really get their panties in a wad over the slightest little things!

It is just a forum on the internet. It used to be better than that. It also is my money to spend on what I see fit. I disagree that Anand "has done is what principles are all about". He may have had to let the ads run their course and I understand that. But he never communicated to us, how he was going to avoid things like this in the future. It's his site and he can run it as he sees fit. It wouldn't surprise me if that includes banning me for speaking my mind. I wouldn't like that but it doesn't keep me from speaking my mind. IMHO the whole TD problem was handled poorly. Hey, mistakes happen. Admit to them, learn from them and move on.
I have no hard feelings against Anand or Anandtech. I am sure he/they handled this as they felt appropriate. It just isn't up to the old standards and I hope this isn't the beginning of the end.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: apoppin
...AND the subscriber forum has additional benefits. I'd say Anand HAS replied to this issue very commendably.
What more can any reasonable person expect?

I must have missed that memo. What additional benefits?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Antisocial-Virge
Just a few questions for my own curiosity. Did he cancel the ads or did the ads just run to the end of the contract? Where they actually pay for placement ads or were they just straight refferal links?

the public forums's bandwith has noticeably increased AND the subscriber forum has additional benefits. I'd say Anand HAS replied to this issue very commendably.

?? Are you trying to say this was done because of the TD ad situation?

Why yes I am. At least partly. Timing is everything in a successful business and Anand had it down exactly. I'd say Tiger's ads ran their natural course and were allowed to die without (hopefully) any renewal.

Here are the new benefits underlined (click on the locked thread at the top in General):

Originally posted by: Anand Lal Shimpi

It has been over one year since we launched the AnandTech Subscriber service for the AnandTech Forums. Over this past year we have seen tremendous support for the new pay services and I'd like to personally thank you all for your support. I'd like to also thank those that didn't subscribe for continuing to use the Forums as a resource despite the decreased performance and other limitations.

In celebration of the one-year anniversary of the AnandTech Subscriber service I'm pleased to announce that the regular non-subscriber forums have received a speed-boost by raising the bandwidth cap on the Forums, effective immediately. We are able to offer more bandwidth to everyone because of the support of our Subscribers, our advertisers, our host Elite Internet Communications and the 100,000+ members that are now registered to the AnandTech Forums. The Subscriber servers remain independent and uneffected by the change in bandwidth as they will still be quicker than the regular Forums.

In order to thank our subscribers for their support we will be debuting a real-time chat client for subscriber use only. The client will integrate into the forums and you'll be able to conduct real-time chats in public and private rooms. We're currently beta testing the client and it will be ready shortly, so stay tuned for an announcement about that in the near future. . . .

Thanks again for your continued support,
Anand

EDIT: Anand doesn't OWE us ANY explanation. He expressed his concern and committed himself to seeing what he can do. What he DID do is commendable and I think he is very proud of his site and related forums and it shows. As to resubscribing myself - it is a definite possibility.

 

[Red Dawn]

Olds, you are entitled to your opinion but I just hope that you noticed that Anand did heed our complaints.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Olds, you are entitled to your opinion but I just hope that you noticed that Anand did heed our complaints.

What steps are going to be taken to ensure that Anandtech's reputation isn't sullied in the future? I missed that.
I assume it would be as easy as checking a potential advertiser's ratings on the BBB, Resellerratings, etc. You could have a predetermined level where an advertiser would not be accepted if their ratings were below that level. If they were, don't accept them as advertisers or have them set out some kind plan to the correct past mistakes. Giving Anandtechers 80% off comes to mind.
Or what's next? Advertising from NAMBLA? j/k

 

[SuperSix]

Originally posted by: Antisocial-Virge
Just a few questions for my own curiosity. Did he cancel the ads or did the ads just run to the end of the contract? Where they actually pay for placement ads or were they just straight refferal links?

the public forums's bandwith has noticeably increased AND the subscriber forum has additional benefits. I'd say Anand HAS replied to this issue very commendably.

?? Are you trying to say this was done because of the TD ad situation?

Pay for Placement - a lump sum is paid and contracted beforehand for "sticky" locked threads in agreed-upon forums. The ads simply ran out (Today being 11/01), and Anand may or may not have refused to extend them. From my experience, unless you are giving something away, Anandtech thread advertising is very ineffective. Tons of impressions, low sales...

 

[Anand Lal Shimpi]

Sorry it has taken me so long to personally respond to this in order to explain the final results of the TD situation. Between handling the TD situation and raising the bandwidth cap on the forums, my hands have been pretty much tied up for the past couple of days. But as they always say, better late than never so it's time for the official AT statement done in the usual non-PR-fluff sort of way

To those that say that when tens of thousands of dollars are at stake ethics and the community no longer matter, I say take a look at the outcome of this situation and use that an example of the contrary. You all made your points, we gave TD the opportunity to respond and in the end we didn't brush off the community, we respected your opinions and acted as swiftly and as justly as possible.

I did not let the ad contract expire, we pulled out of it. Does that have anything to do with the faster forums or the fact that it happened on the 1st of the month? Nope, not at all (if anything, keeping TD would have increased the forums cap even more). They are two independent events that just happened to take place on the same day.

Since this has been asked a number of times, I thought I might as well clear things up; the posts made by AnandTech Deals are in fact paid for advertisements in the Forums. They are simply a new form of advertising brought about so we can continue to bring you all the Forums you use on a regular basis. They aren't handled by AnandTech, Inc., but rather our sales and marketing firm who does direct advertising for the main site and the Forums. Was our sales staff aware of the issues that had taken place in the past with TD? Nope, they were just doing their job.

Because of the TD situation we've changed our policy a bit; the sales guys will now dig a bit deeper into the companies they accept for advertising on AT. They will search through the forums, Reseller Ratings, etc... to get a feel for the experience of the company within the community. Will a situation like this ever happen again? I can't say for sure that it won't, but we will try our best to make sure it doesn't. And if it does? Well, I hope this is an example of how highly I value all of your opinions. If I could handle every transaction like this personally I would, but being able to not do so is one of the reasons I stopped doing ad sales through AT years ago - I'm here to bring you content, I'll let others handle the ads

For those of you that are letting your subscriber accounts expire because of how we handled this situation, I'd just like to thank you for your support as a subscriber and I hope you'll continue to use the Forums - even if you choose not to renew.

Thanks again for everyone's support and oldsmoboat, I don't ban people for speaking their mind; that's not how I work

Take care,
Anand

 

[UlricT]

thanks for the post Anand...

and thanks for explaining what happened "on the inside"...

now im sure most people would realise that some claims made on these threads about AT going over to the dark side were baseless. ( Unless you already are there, and are lying through you teeth :Q )

 

[olds]

Anand
Thanks for the reply. I am glad you came back and cleared a few things up.
I wouldn't expect a ban to come from you but from one of the trigger finger mods.

 

[Anand Lal Shimpi]

oldsmoboat

Thanks for bringing them up actually, I forgot to make a mention in the post but I want it to be made very clear that the mods were definitely on top of the situation and they handled it wonderfully. They were always on your side and were the first to bring it to my attention, they are to thank for a lot of this being solved in the manner in which it was.

They very rarely get the thanks they deserve but they are by far the biggest reason the Forums are around today. You can always throw money at something and hope for it to work, but it is the timeless effort of our volunteer moderators that make these Forums possible. Although you don't know them by name and most of you will never encounter them, be sure to respect and thank them every now and then; they deserve it more than anyone, myself included.

Take care,
Anand

 

[Dulanic]

Thanks for the response Anand Ban magicbrillo while you at it for posting hot deals for his own company which is clearly against the rules

I like this resolution and have changed my mind about renewing

 

[Evadman]

Thanks for your reply and explanation Anand. Your top notch.

--Dave